Sweetwater II: The Resurrection Chronicles
by kalobuko
Summary: A small catch-up to the somewhat awkward ending of Sweetwater which closes off the whole deal in a much neater package.
1. M03400

2SW1

Sweetwater II: The Resurrection Chronicles  
one  
  
a woman who looked as if she had barely tripped over the twenty nine marker line in the race of age stood at the entry gate of M03400's administrative compound. Hilde Schbeiker, my name is Renée Crichton, and I'm your supervisor. The team leader of the technical and communication group you'll be working in.  
  
Hilde extended her hand. Nice to meet you, Ms. Crichton.  
  
The woman's short curly hair bobbed like curly fries around her ears as she nodded happily. You're the only woman we have on the team so far, actually. Other than myself.  
  
_Good, _Hilde mused, _I've been stuck with girls for the past year and a half. _I'm sure they'll be well behaved for me.  
  
You haven't met them yet, Renée began to lead Hilde into her office. They're a bunch of devils either straight from the academy or left over soldiers. Hot pants, that's what they are. A load of testosterone-infused apes looking for something to hang on to!  
  
One of them had apparently walked by, following another resident superior. He had a crop top head of dark brown hair. His eye's were bright green beneath the fluorescent lights. He lifted his hand slowly, pausing at the door, extended his thumb, and flicked it out from behind the top front row of his shiny, white teeth. Reneé, one of the guys, laughed and flipped him off before sitting down, Hilde sure as hell that this was where she belonged.  
  
I'll have someone come show you to the team quarters, Hilde. There's not much more formality than this, I have to tell you. The head man's almost never here, and when he is, he's usually golfing in his office.  
  
___  
  
  
That same man from before led her out of the administration office and down through a corridor. They passed by two blocks before reaching theirs. He opened the double doors reading _TECH' COMM'_. A few members of the hooted when he came in. Hilde immediately spotted them. There were three sitting at a lunch table exactly like those that were at Sweetwater. One of them had such a head full of shaggy hair that Hilde could barely see his eyes. The other two were decently well groomed. The farthest one from her wore a beat up baseball cap like a trophy.   
  
It was only the lobby that she stood in, and yet the essence of the entire place shoved itself into every part of her she had to offer. Strong scents of after shave and cologne, the musky scent of man that she reveled in. An oaky, spicy, protective smell that she'd been around and used as her security blanket for years. As long as there was a drop of Azzaro or Old Spice nearby, her heart somehow managed to move on. Heero smelled like a forest, and she remembered it well.   
  
When he'd held her during her stay on earth, his arms around her brought visions of looming pines and sturdy oaks. A smell like that of a fresh rain and a few chopped trees. Suffused with the lingering aroma of dirt and earthy life. And yet, Duo was so less obvious. Spicy, barely there, and yet so powerful that it stayed with you all day. It was a kind of smell, sweet and airy, that had kept memories in her mind even a year after she'd left what she had of him behind on L2.   
  
These men were intrusive, proud. Their presence of sweat and shampoo and Irish Spring and shaving gel was overpowering, yet Hilde would rather have it instead of flowers and fruits. Those things were made in the soil, but men, the scent of them, was made in heaven for women to wrap themselves up in. Certainly a decent woman wouldn't let herself be cradled by a man that smelled like a powder puff.   
  
the man with the shaggy hair greeted, exaggerating _aloha_. You're the newbie, Hilda?  
  
She came forward and set her bag down. her hand jut out immediately. Hilde Schbeiker.  
  
He shook her hand gingerly, not fully aware of her personality, but automatically liking her nonetheless, My name's Jake.  
  
Jake started with the intros, is Chip.  
  
The cropped-hair guy behind her stood nearby.   
  
Chip said, George is the hick over here!  
  
George slapped Chip on the back of the neck and nodded at Hilde. Nice to have you on board, ma'am. He had a southern accent. Hilde found it cute.  
  
Another man walked in from one of the six doors in the room. Three on each side, which were the individual's bedrooms. He was relevantly tall, and had skin smooth and dark like chocolate. His smile lit up brightly from inside a sleek looking goatee, and Hilde felt her knees go weak. Her eyes got stuck on his hair for a moment as he approached. It was wavy, and shiny like opal, she wanted to reach out and touch it. But then again, she knew it would be a bad idea to do that. Since first impressions mean a lot, she resisted the urge and smiled back up at him when he walked over, taking her hand.  
  
I'm Nathan, he said, and his voice was as smooth as the rest of him. Hilde, right?  
  
She nodded. I like you already. She ground her foot into her toes and bit her lip, _why in the hell did I say that?!  
  
_Nathan chuckled, his voice like satin to her ears. At least I'll have another civilized human being to talk to now.  
  
Woah, woah, Chip held his hands up, what about the other new   
  
George grinned goofily and spoke out, He's the kind of guy that has a lot of secrets.  
  
I think he's a good man, Jake noted. He works hard. I just bet that he lost a girl he loved or something.  
  
Hilde's heart thumped into her throat. She was still in love with him, after all. Even though she'd gone through so much, she was filled with the idea of finding out what she wasn't coherent enough to learn when she'd met him. Heero came at a bad time, but if he hadn't come when he did, she wouldn't have been able to make it out.  
  
  
  


**...to be continued...**


	2. The First Day

2SW2

Sweetwater II: The Resurrection Chronicles  
two  
  
Hilde'd unpacked and taken a seat in the main foyer where she'd met the guys, where's the forlorn lover you were talking about earlier?  
  
Jake, who was playing a video game in the corner, paused and got up to get a drink. He's on the other side of the compound, off on a day break to some other satellite or something.  
  
He got a soda from the refrigerator and snapped it open. Before reaching the bean bag chair where he was playing a shooter, he'd downed most of the soda. Hilde flipped through a few pages of a James Patterson book she'd loaned from Nathan and fingered the rim of her bottle of water idly. Nathan himself was writing a report in the office next to the den where Jake had planted himself. For a job that didn't call for much, the pay was good and so were the benefits. Someone could easily live here and never worry about a thing. There were weekly trips to the moon, to earth--one way only--and also the free rides to other colonies to do work.   
  
M03400 was a sort of temporary labor shop, where needed workers could be borrowed, or were put to use in harvesting resources from the satellite itself. Hilde had become one of the resident technological specialists. She worked mainly with computers and networks, fixing motherboards and writing software when she had to. Jake, Chip, and George fiddled with communications and wiring. Nathan did a bit of everything and kept the team in order when Renée was slacking off, or on duty somewhere else. Hilde still didn't know about the other worker. No one did. He seemed to have his own agenda so far.  
  
Strangely, Chip burst out of his room in nothing but a pair of cut off, knee grazing cargo pants. His bare chest heaved as he searched the room. Where's George?  
  
Slouched, so that only the top of his head could be seen, Jake lifted a hand and pointed past Hilde, into the living room Hilde'd missed the chance for seeing. Chip ran past her and started screaming at George. Hilde was reminded of Krista. George laughed and sputtered out something about how much something or other sucked. That _he _was the southerner and that even he didn't like it.  
  
That was no reason to trash my WWF!  
  
My God, Hilde got up and carried the book and bottle of water with her, Chip likes wrestling?  
  
A cascade of laughter erupted from Jake, who got shot on the game in doing so, and also letting loose a few flying curses. Aw, shit!  
  
Hilde waved fleetingly and walked into the office designated as the only quiet spot in the entire block. Nathan was stretching in the computer chair, and when he heard the door, he looked back. His face beamed another white smile that Hilde'd come to adore in such a short time. He was perhaps the first person she'd had to share a living space with that she truly looked up to and enjoyed being around. Not even Midii or Delilah had such a quality as he. Perhaps it was his exotic way of being handsome and philosophical and a complete gentleman.   
  
I'm sorry to bother you, she said. But they were getting a little frisky. You don't mind if I read in here, do you?  
  
Of course not, he motioned at the comfortable couch nearby, it's more homey in here anyway. I don't blame you one bit for trying to get away before they started throwing things.  
  
She sat down and sank a good bit into the couch. Nathan chuckled at her and took a drink from his glass of what appeared to be either apple juice or tea. How's the book so far.  
  
she made a sour face, I ruined the whole thing for myself.  
  
You looked at the last chapter, didn't you?  
  
Um hm.  
  
He grinned, another smile that released a bout of good, positive energy. I did that too.  
  
It reads really quickly, too, she held her place with her fingers and looked at the bare spine. The words _Roses Are Red_ were imprinted in gold film. I just wish I hadn't ruined it.  
  
___  
  
  
Hey Jude, don't make it bad, take a sad song and make it better. From the living room there was a slow piano playing and someone singing.   
  
Hilde had long since put _Roses Are Red _away and Nathan had joined her in the den.   
  
Remember to let her into your heart, then you can start to make it better. The person went on, and on the next verse someone else began singing, Hey Jude, don't be afraid, you were made to go out and get her.  
  
For the rest of the song, Chip, George, and Jake all sang together. Nathan told Hilde that it was probably George playing the piano. He may be southern, but he had a fine taste in music, like Nathan had said.  
  
The minute you let her under your skin, then you begin to make it better. And any time you feel a pain, refrain, don't carry the world upon your shoulders. A pause, For well, you know that it's a fool who plays it cool by making his world a little colder. Hey Jude, don't let me down, you have found her, now go and get her.  
  
Hilde and Nathan got up to go watch them perform. It was a vigil they took place in once a week. The double doors opened as Hilde entered the living room completely and sat down with Jake. She tapped out part of the rhythm to fill in some gaps and sang along, keeping them in key.   
  
Remember to let her into your heart, then you can start to make it better. So let it out and let it in. Hey Jude, begin, you're waiting for someone to perform with. And don't you know that it's just you, hey Jude the movement you need is on your shoulders.  
  
Hey Jude, don't make it bad, take a sad song and make it better. Remember to let her under your skin, then you can begin to make it better. Nathan peered over his shoulder to see their final crew member meander in. He looked worn out and particularly sad. He'd sung the last line softly and barely cast a gaze towards them. He simply wandered into his room and shut the door.  
  
  
  


**...to be continued...  
  
  
  
**All rights reserved to The Beatles for the song Hey Jude.


	3. Beginning Day, Ending Tale

2SW3

Sweetwater II: The Resurrection Chronicles  
three  
  
_BREEP BREEP BREEP BREEP..._ The alarm clock wailed and screamed until Hilde finally slammed her hand down over its brow. Her room was quaint, plain if not stripped bare, but the bed was soft enough. Regulation military covers were on it so far, but she'd seen Nathan's silken down duvet and melted again. He was real ladies' man if there ever was one, without even trying. Chip, on the other hand, was about as repellant as a zap light hanging outside of a camper in the middle of the woods. Instead of a gristly _BZZAPT _as a sound effect...  
  
was what you heard instead. He belched gurgly and man-like when staggered, bare foot, bare chested, and boxer clad into the foyer, his head appearing to have been yanked around by a drooling grizzly bear all night long.  
  
Hilde laughed at his crudeness and got out of bed. Suddenly wide awake, she got up and pulled on a pair of discarded sweat pants to cover her bare legs. She came out and saw that most everyone else was already getting up as well. George was standing close to the coffee maker, staring it to death.  
  
Chip snapped his fingers. She's wearing clothes.  
  
What, man? Jake scowled at Chip from beneath his mop of hair. You're such an ass. Of course she's wearing clothes.  
  
Chip, being the know it all about women type, put a hand to his bare chest and pointed at Hilde. You mean to tell me that you didn't know that all chicks sleep in the nude?  
  
George groggily glared at Chip in his rawest, most real-to-life state and shook his head. You've got no right to call me a dirty southerner, you jackass.  
  
Oh, I love it when you talk nasty to me, Georgy Porgy. That accent of yours is so sexy! Chip slunk over to him and glomped him. George punched him in the shoulder and dusted himself off.  
  
Pervert, keep your filth away from me and my breakfast.  
  
Nathan grumbled, emerging less than intellectually from his room.  
  
Hilde giggled. So there is a bit of primitive man in him after all.  
  
He patted her on the shoulder.  
  
Not all of us gals can wake up naturally gorgeous like you, Hilde, Chip draped his arms around her. I just love your complexion.   
  
She tried to duck away, accepting his compliment, but got something she wasn't expecting at all. He gripped her harder in his muscle-toned arms and licked the side of her face he was closest to. Shrieking, Hilde jammed her elbow into his gut and jostled him off before he could get another taste. Nathan watched in utter disgust and threw an insulated, hard, plastic coffee mug at Chip. It whacked him right in the head and fell to the floor; his shoulders cringed up with a wail from his pained face.  
  
Dammit, Chip, Nathan growled. For Christ's sake, be a respectable human being for once! At least with Hilde. She's a lot better than you are, that's for sure.  
  
Sorry, sweets, he shrugged and rubbed his throbbing head, but I couldn't resist. It was spontaneity. I meant no harm.  
  
I need to get a shower, Hilde moved off towards to bathroom.  
  
Oh lawd, a girl in the block, guys. She'll be out in three hours.  
  
Hilde stopped at the doorjamb and flipped him, Chip, off. You'll see.  
  
___  
  
  
Duo slipped out of his room and saw the same scene as he usually did. Chip at some sort of combat with someone, Jake starting to fiddle with the game, and George hovering over the grumbling coffee pot. The door to the bathroom was shut, but he didn't take the time to notice that all of the usual crew was in sight. He'd heard of the new team mate, but hadn't met him personally as of yet. He had too much on his mind already.  
  
Jake bobbed his head at Duo when he sat down close by. You've totally missed the newbie, man.  
  
I haven't missed much, I hope, Duo rubbed his face. Everyone seems to be the same.  
  
He shot a grin at Chip and Nathan, who had started to pour his creamer into his own personalized, shiny black mug. There's a girl in the squad, of course they _aren't_ the same.  
  
A girl?  
  
___  
  
  
Hilde exited the bathroom ten minutes after she'd entered. George slapped Chip on the back ahead of time, to prevent him from commenting on her lack of being wrapped in a towel. Duo's eyes widened as he finally looked back to see the face of the newbie. He gasped and stood up.  
  
he said, taking a few hesitant steps away from the couch. My God, I've been looking for you everywhere.  
  
She stumbled back a few steps herself.   
  
he said, not sure if he was allowed to come near, I'm so sorry. I never should have doubted you.  
  
Tears began to fill both of their eyes. Nathan smiled and took a sip of his coffee. Now this is some real nice interaction. Chip, don't you dare say anything.  
  
Hilde repeated his name, letting it fall from her lips like honey, and ran over to him, enveloping him in a hug so fierce that it made his back pop. Damn Bill to hell, Duo. I never loved him. I always loved you!  
  
___  
  
  
That was really sweet, Chip said, but it's not fair that Duo gets a chick and I don't.  
  
You don't deserve one, George piped.  
  
Hilde and Duo sat in the office, talking, while Nathan kept domestic peace. Jake was the only one that really didn't think it was a surprise. They fit, so why the hell not have them be together? You don't make a puzzle to leave the pieces in the box, do you? No one in their right mind would leave a fuzzy kitten puzzle sitting on the top shelf just to look pretty on the cover.   
  
It was a storybook ending to a less than storybook tale. Duo and Hilde resumed their lives where they had left them on L2, and live moved on as it always had, and always would. Even if there wasn't coffee brewing, or the smell of men in the air, the sun would rise and set. And there would always be love between them, no matter if they admitted to it or not. At least on M03400 there was no McMillen and no Bill to kick the ass of.  
  
  
  


**The End.**


End file.
